Physical, mechanical, and thermal properties of biodegradables films of rice starch

Abstract

It is known that the processing of rice produces large amounts of broken grains. As an alternative to increase the value of these broken grains there is the possibility to obtain rice starch, which transforms this raw material in a product with a greater industrial interest. Among the possible applications for starch, the use of biodegradable films is a feasible alternative in view of the partial synthetic polymers replacement. The aim of this study was to develop rice starch films containing different concentrations of plasticizer (40, 50 and 60 g glycerol/100 g starch) and analyze their physical, mechanical, and thermal properties, as well as color parameters. After all, the increase on glycerol content resulted in improvements on thickness, elongation, water vapor permeability, and mass loss by thermogravimetric analysis. Films with low glycerol concentrations showed better barrier properties. However, the tensile strengths decreased with the plasticizer content increment.